Method of manufacturing molded articles



Sept. 8, 1931. R. WEITZEL METHOD QF MANUFACTURING MOLDED ARTICLES Fiied Feb. 7. 1930 Fig.1

10 thin clothpiece is cemented on, and

Patented Sept. 8, 1931 fum'rsn STATES PATENT OFFICE ROBERT wnrrznfi, on runs, rnancn union or immrracrunme mopnnn an-nrcnns Application fled February 7, 1930, Ser1al No. 426,751, and in' France Februar'y22, 1929. 1

The present invention relates to a methd of manufacturing pieces of furniture and other lacquered articles by a simplemolding process. 7 I In accordance. with the invention, the mold is first coated with a material preventing adhesion of the lacquer and the mold thus preparedvis given. one or more .coats of a lacquer paint or sizing. Then a relatively u on the-whole are applied several layers 0? a cloth coated with a substanceadapted to harden-in the air, such as plaster, cement or the like. After'hardening, the object is re- 1 moved from the mold, and it then -has a smooth outer surface which can final polish.

If the object cannot be molded in one piece, several pieces are produced, and these receive the are joined together by superposing the cloth of one piece upon the edge of the adjacent piece. After the said cloth has become dry, it is lacquered and polished at the exterior by hand.

The accompanying drawings show an example of'the method of manufacture in accordance with the invention. 1 r

Fig. 1 is a half section of a table which is obtained by the molding, of its several parts.

Figs. '2 and 3 show details of the same on a larger scale. 1

Fig. 4 shows a method of securing a hinge to a piece of furniture.

The table shown in Figure 1 includes an upper flat .top 5,.below which is a strengthening plate 6 to which is secured by bolts 7 a central supporting upright 8 whichis closed atthe top and bottom by the respective plates 910. a I v According to the invention, in order to obtain any one of these parts, there is employed a mold made in one or two parts .and of any suitable material such as laster or of the part to be molded.

- The inner surface of'said mold is covered with a layerof lacquer, and then with a la er of a fatty substance or sizing which will dry in a few hours. The lacquer-"serves to close cement and having inhollow relie the form stance such as silica jelly (finely powdered s1lica in sus ension in 'a solution of gelatine and glycerin Thesilica jelly'servestocom- 06 plete the action of the fatty substance in "order to prevent any adhesion to the mold.

The said mold'is now ready for use.

For the moldin of a lacquer object, the

operation is as fol ows: v

The operator uses an air brush to dispose 'in the interior of the mold one or more layers of lacquer paint or composition coating substance largely compose tats of cellulose dissolved in acetone).

-Whenthe said layers are dry, he applies a piece of very fine cloth, by means of a layer of cellulose varnish (which requires some care) or'preferably by the use of a fatt coating substance consisting largely of d oil, ben'zine and gum.

When the said cloth and said fatty substance have become well dried, he applies several successive layers of cloth coated with gpaint or .of acea substance which will harden, such as plaster, cement, glue, or the like, and'when. fully dried, the piece can be, removed from the mold, and its outer surface is adapted to receive a definite polish. By" using a sufficient number of pieces of cloth, this method affords pieces of a very'substantial nature and havingvlabo'ut the same specific weight as wood. en the piece, by reason of its size or of the'stress to which it is to be subjected,'must be verysubstantial, certain of its parts can be strengthened'by folding the clothupon these parts, thus forming sec:-

tions having the-shape of a T, U or V. i p

In the particular case s own in the drawings, the strengthening pla Q of the tabl 1 v is provided with U-shaped ribs 11 which increase the strength of said plate and allow the heads of the bolts 7 to be imbedded during the molding process.

To maintain the strengthening plate 6 in the interior of the plate 5 of the table, care is taken during the molding of the plate to allow the strengthenin cloth toextend be glqnd the edge 12. en the plate 6 is ished, it is removed from the mold and is placed in position, and the operator then lds back the cloth 12 a ainst the lining 6, as shown in Figure 2. en the cloth 12 is dry, he polishes the outer surface of this cloth, and covers it with a coat of lacquer paint similar to the paint used on the outside'of the pieces 56. This affords an invisible joint of great strength.

If the bottom part 10 is to be attached to the lower end of the upright part 8, he 'ves to the surface 13 of the inner edge 0 the said upright part 8 a tapered form, and to the surface 14 of the bottom plate 10 a correspondingly tapered shape, leaving one of the pieces of cloth 15 of the edge part 13 on the outside before inserting the bottom plate 10 and when the latter has been put in place, the joint is filled with a cement-like substance which is then covered by the cloth .15, and said cloth is given a coat of the laciqller paint.

I e attachin of the table top part to the upright part 8 y the bolts 7 oifers no particular difliculty.

If any suitable fittings are to be screwed to a piece of furniture, as for instance a hinge, this can be preferably effected b means of the device shown in Figure 4. flange 19 is formed on the member 17 by the use of certain of the cloth ieces, and at the pro er places are dispose cloth pieces 20 ma e up in the shape of a shallow U or concave piece, which is then filled with plates of wood, fibre or metal 21. The other cloth partsof ,the member 17 are cemented at 22 to 'the said plates 21, and the whole is lacquered and olished on the outside. The screws 23 of t e hinge 18 are engaged, as shown in the fi re, in the plates 21.

The said rein orcing device used for metal fittings may also be employed for any part which is to operate in a special manner.

Between the said plates 21 may be inserted sheets of rubber orlike substance by which the whole will be made elastic.

The great advantage ofiered by the rocess accordin to the invention consists in t e fact that it a ords, by the use of lacquer material,

various articles now made of laster or cement upon which a well finished surface can be obtained only with difiiculty and by expensive means, such as successive treatment with pumice stone, in which much labor is expended.

According to the inzention, when the articles are removed from the mold, they have a fine surface consisting of a material of such nature that only one pumice stone polishing is required to obtain the finished surface. On the other hand, if it should be necessa to put on other coats of lacquer, these form an integral part of the lac uer constituting the, surface of the artic e removed from the mold, as any subsequent coats will be of the same nature and can thus sli htly dissolve the layer already in place, ence making an intimate connection.

- It should be noted that the cloth used to strengthen the lacquer constitutes an interesting application of the method of strengthening now employed in the metal stamping industry.

On the other hand, as the cloth is impregnated with substances which harden at a comparatively slow rate, the assembled parts,

can be entirely connected upon their whole surface in a much better manner than in the case in which metal parts are assembled by W bolts or rivets.

In certain cases, when the surface of the article is to be decorated, it is preferable to place in the mold a sheet of metal, for instance tinfoil, to avoid pumice stone treatment of these parts which are decorated in the mold.

objects w 'ch are partly transparent'can be obtained by placing inthe mold which has.

been thus prepared, suitable cellulose ce- In some cases, the first two steps of the ments, then placing upon the latter one or more layers of a translucent fabric.

It is also feasible to dispose translucent elements such as lass in the form of beads or:

strips, tortois s ell, celluloid, or the like, betweenthe said sheets in order to obtain attractive decorative effects.

The invention is a plicable to the manufacture of objects such or railroad cars, and it can be further used for the manufacture of trunks, traveling articles, vehicle bodies, telephone cabins, and the like. All such articles will have a sharp external surface, even if this surface has the most complicated forms. Such results could not be obtained with wood, and on the other hand, the articles made according to theinvention are quite weatherproof. j

I claim: l

1. A method of moldin pieces of furniture or other articles, whic comprises coatin the mold with a substance preventing a esion andf'then with several coats of lacas furniture, lighting 1' .fixtures, art objects, facings, cabins for boats quer paint or sizing," with a layer of thin cloth, and then covering the whole with several layers of cloth coated with a product adapted toharden in the air.

' 2. A method of molding a plurality of portlons of an article-of furniture, in accordance,

with claim 1, which. comprises superposing the cloth of one portion of the article upon the. edges of the adjacent portion, and after;

drying said cloth, lacquering and polishing it, at the exterior.

3. A method of molding articles of fur-v niture, which comprises providing the article of furniture with a trough, filling the interior of the trough with wood, andcovering the trough with cloth. impregnated with a material adapted to harden in the air.

In testimony whereof I aflix no signature.

ROBERT W ITZEL.

covering the laquer 

